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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2025-196

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Reference: Part 1 application posted on 8 May 2025

Gatineau, 5 August 2025

Gospel Media Communications
Montréal, Quebec

Public record: 2025-0044-6

CKZW Montréal – Technical amendments

  1. The Commission has the authority, pursuant to subsection 9(1) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act), to issue licences for the carrying on of broadcasting undertakings and to amend those licences.
  2. Consistent with this authority, the Commission approves the application by Gospel Media Communications (GMC) to amend the technical parameters of the transmitter of the English-, French-, and third-language religious music AM radio programming undertaking CKZW Montréal, Quebec. Specifically, GMC proposed to increase the daytime transmitter power from 1,000 to 3,000 watts. All other technical parameters will remain unchanged.
  3. The Commission did not receive any interventions in regard to this application.
  4. When a licensee files an application for technical amendments, the Commission requires the licensee to present compelling technical or economic evidence justifying the requested amendments. In this case, GMC wishes to address recurring issues affecting AM signal transmission in urban locations. It indicated that the proposed technical amendments are necessary to maintain coverage in its 5 mV/m and 15 mV/m authorized contours. The Commission notes, however, that these amendments will not allow the licensee to expand its coverage outside of its authorized market. The Commission is satisfied that the licensee has demonstrated a technical need for the requested technical amendments.
  5. Pursuant to subsection 22(1) of the Act, this authority will only be effective when the Department of Industry (also known as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) notifies the Commission that its technical requirements have been met and that a broadcasting certificate will be issued.
  6. The licensee must implement the technical amendments by no later than 5 August 2027. To request an extension, the licensee must submit a written request to the Commission at least 60 days before that date, using Form 300 available on the Commission’s website.
  7. As set out in section 16 of the Radio Regulations, 1986 (the Regulations), licensees have obligations relating to the broadcast of emergency alert messages received from the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System. The implementation of the technical amendments approved in this decision could result in changes to CKZW’s authorized contours. The Commission reminds the licensee that continued compliance with section 16 of the Regulations may require that any alert broadcast decoders (e.g., ENDEC) used for the purposes of broadcasting emergency alert messages on CKZW, or on any rebroadcasting transmitters that may appear on the broadcasting licence for that station, be reprogrammed to properly account for the new authorized contours.
  8. This decision is to be appended to the licence.

Secretary General

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